Sawyer
Introduction One of the original founders of the HM Army's flagship clan 'The 1st Yorkshire Regiment of Foot' in 2010, Sawyer then went on to establish and lead the HM Army community from late 2011 up until its defacto disbanding in 2012. A controversial figure, Sawyer attracted mixed attitudes from within the Mount and Musket and Napoleonic Wars communities and was infamous for feuding with other clan leaders such as those from the 84e, 32nd, 91st/1stRHG and 51st regiments. Temporarily banned from the official Mount and Musket servers at some point during 2011, Sawyer then went on to be permanently banned from the Taleworlds Forum in 2012. The HM Army Cooperation with Hypern With the demand of having to lead the 1st Yorks. as well as run a multi-clan community, the HM Army, it was necessary for Sawyer to delegate responsibilities to others to promote the growth of the community. Hypern (later HM-Diplomat Hypern), an old member of the 1st Yorks., was responsible for a number of these activities, including recruitment of new clans to the community and maintaining good will between clans already within the HM Army. Unfortunately, Hypern's frequently ineffectual and transparent scheming with Sawyer along with his greater interest in the 'politics' of the community, resulted in many clans/regiments being suspicious of one another and new recruits being alienated. This had an adverse effect on community cohesion and it didn't take long before the HM Army was having a high turnover of poor-quality fledgling clans. Highlander and money-lending issues Before the end of 2011, Sawyer had become increasingly associated with the pillar of the Mount and Musket community, 'Highlander'. An important event organiser, regiment leader and frequent visitor to the HM Army teamspeak, Highlander represented one of Sawyer's few friends outside the HM Army at a time when there was bitter feuding between Sawyer and other major regiments like the 32nd, 84e and 91st/1stRHG. Several weeks after their first association however, it emerged that Highlander had disappeared with several hundred pounds (perhaps ~£500), apparently given to him as a loan by Sawyer, as Highlander had claimed he was experiencing financial difficulty. Highlander did not return to the great distress of Sawyer and his parents and it is unlikely that Sawyer ever saw the return of his money. Emzy - Sawyer's love interest As the HM Army grew, non Mount and Musket clans were permitted to join. Chiefly amongst these was the World of Warcraft clan led by 'Emzy'. Possibly the only female in the HM Army, Sawyer quickly latched onto her, reigniting his interest in World of Warcraft as a result and spending as much time with her on the teamspeak as possible. It is unknown exactly how their relationship matured, but a woman in her 30s and perhaps more and twice the age of Sawyer, they were rumoured to have shared several images, of an unspecified nature. Their relationship ended when, for whatever reason, Emzy and her clan left the HM Army teamspeak on bad terms. Disappearances and descent into madness One of the most commonly attributed factors to the downfall of both the 1st Yorks. and the HM Army is the irregular and unexpected disappearance(s) of Sawyer and his apparent personality changes following a disappearance to Mexico. Originally a trusted and respected leader in late 2011, the sudden disappearance of Sawyer in early 2012 led to inactivity and confusion among members of both the 1st Yorks. and the HM Army. Wondering whether or not he would ever return, many were prepared to leave. However the unexpected appearance of Sawyer within the HM Army Teamspeak after over a fortnight of silence revealed that he was in an internet cafe in Mexico and a couple of weeks later, he had returned. Rather than returning to normality however, within a couple of months it was noticed that Sawyer's personality had changed. No longer capable of taking anything seriously when necessary, he had become increasingly childish and lazy - unwilling to organise events or ensure activity. Sawyer was also noted to have become a compulsive liar, fabricating stories of owning 'a pile' of state-of-the-art computer graphics cards and offering to give them out to members, and making wildly exaggerated claims of both the 1st Yorks. and HM Army's activity and success. His temper had also noticeably shortened, he was quicker and stronger to react to small perceived slights, often times descending into swearing and attempting to shout over his opposition. Ultimately, the 1st Yorks. faded away rather than disappearing overnight as inactivity grew in parallel with Sawyer's increasingly negatively personality and attitude. On the 16th of January 2016, Sawyer disconnected from the HM Army 'legacy-teamspeak' and has not been seen or heard from since. The sudden and unexpected nature of this new disappearance has led to him being officially classified as dead. Ideal Game Servers Towards the end of 2011 or possibly into 2012, Sawyer began his own game-server hosting business by purchasing another that was struggling and renaming it 'Ideal Game Servers'. To assist with this, Sawyer initially brought on Bird and Glenn as technical support, thereby extending Bird's responsibilities beyond just management of the HM Army teamspeak but also into Sawyer's private business. Effectively, acquiring free labour for it. Despite this, the business began to decline into 2012 and dissatisfaction among Bird and Glenn grew. Major issues were apparent with the management of the business such that customers were able to increase the user limit of purchased servers beyond the capacity they had paid for. In one instance, it was effectively possible to purchase a 250 slot Mount&Blade: Warband server for 20-30 pence a month. Issues too over payment came to the fore as Sawyer had personally neglected the business, leaving it almost entirely in the hands of Glenn and Bird. As a result of the mounting dissatisfaction, Bird left as defacto manager of Ideal Game Servers but Glenn remained on-board, apparently with the promise of regular payment as an employee. It was later rumoured that payments from Sawyer were late, insufficient or non-existent. The exact date or nature of the end of Ideal Game Servers is unknown.